With civil wars raging in Iraq, Syria, and Libya, a wave of radicalization of Tunisian youths, and general political and economic instability throughout the Arab World, the immediate aftermath of the Arab Spring has been violent and chaotic. But as journalist Rami Khouri points out, solving centuries of political and social problems is a long and imperfect process. “This is much deeper than just a spring… This is a fundamental reconfiguration of the relationship between the citizen and the...

There’s an interesting side effect of the downturn in energy prices that started late last year – a strong trend in business sales.

After being laid off from the oil and gas sector, many former employees look to something completely different. In a lot of cases they have savings, plus a big severance package, and The Journal Record’s managing editor Adam Brooks says a business can be a good investment, and it’s a good time to buy.

State officials in Oklahoma and voting rights advocates have announced an agreement to provide more voter registration access toOklahoma citizens and stave off a potential lawsuit over the state's compliance with federal voting laws.

Details of the settlement agreement were released on Thursday by the OklahomaState Election Board and a group that had voiced concerns about Oklahoma'scompliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

Oklahoma’s high school graduation rate has dropped, with low-income students seeing the largest decline, according to the latest data available from the state Department of Education.

The state’s overall graduation rate was 82.7 percent in school year 2013-2014, down from 84.9 percent in 2012-2013, the data show.

Those are the first two years the state has reported graduation rates using a four-year cohort measure being implemented across the nation. The rate represents the percentage of incoming freshmen who earn a high school diploma within four years.

Oklahoma is synonymous with energy. It’s a major oil and gas state and one of the country’s leaders in wind power. But Oklahoma has been slow on solar energy, and experts say that’s because of state policy — not the sun.

SOLAR ‘SCIENCE EXPERIMENT’

Lawmakers, local business and community leaders, and workers in hardhats on July 27 gathered beneath a tent to celebrate the opening of a new solar power project in west Oklahoma City.

The guest of honor, Gov. Mary Fallin, arrived in an electric Nissan Leaf and made a few short remarks.

Even as government officials brace for a recurrence of bird flu this fall, the massive spring outbreak is still affecting food producers.

Kansas City residents, flocking to local favorite Sheridan’s frozen custard stands because of this week’s heat wave, are met with notices that the custard recipe has been changed because of an egg shortage.

Financial institutions are uniting against the U.S. Senate’s six-year transportation bill, including bankers in Oklahoma.

Banks are required to buy stocks from the Federal Reserve in order to become members. They receive a six percent interest rate on their investment. The transportation bill would reduce that rate to one-and-a-half percent. The change offsets about $16 billion of highway spending.

Oklahoma Bankers Association president and CEO Roger Beverage said that would hurt consumers.

Republican U.S. Senators discussed legislation Wednesday that would block federal money from going to Planned Parenthood and send those funds to other organizations that provide healthcare services for women.

Planned Parenthood is under scrutiny after videos surfaced that allegedly show doctors talking about selling fetal tissues. The organization’s leadership says Planned Parenthood does not profit from fetal tissue donations.